28 killed in rain-related incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan

The death toll due to torrential rain in Pakistan rose to 28 yesterday as more houses collapsed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan province.

Officials of the Meteorological Department said that 17 people lost their lives over the past three days in Balochistan, while six died in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and five in adjacent tribal areas, reports the Dawn.

More than 50 people have been injured in both regions and officials in the central province of Punjab are still estimating the damage there.

"At least 17 people have died due to roofs and walls collapsing or being struck by lightning," Dawn quoted Zahid Saleem, the chief of Baluchistan's disaster management authority, as saying.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast scattered rain with thundershower accompanied by strong gusty winds and isolated hailstorm in Kashmir, Islamabad, Sargodha, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, Fata and Gilgit-Baltistan during the next 24 hours.

Dr. Muhammad Hanif, a weather expert, said rain and snowfall over the hills would continue in Gilgit, Hunza, Murree and Galyat, and warned that the prevailing weather conditions could cause landslide in vulnerable areas of Hazara division and Kashmir.

The incessant rain, which started on Friday, is likely to persist till Monday morning while another spell is expected from Wednesday, as per reports.

Pakistan experiences severe rain conditions every year, with hundreds killed and huge tracts of prime farmland destroyed in recent years.

According to reports, at least 81 people were killed and almost 3, 00,000 were affected across the country during torrential downpours and flooding last year.